The left-hand portion of the picture shows the Prince Regent reclining idly on the throne undergoing his toilet. His idea of the gravity of the situation may be gathered from his speech: ‘Why this looks like war! Order me a brilliant Fête, send me a Myriad of Cooks and Scullions—say to me no more of Civil Lists and deserted wives, but of lascivious Mistresses and Bacchanalian Orgies—To it, Pell mell—my soul is eager for the fierce encounter—What, are my Whiskers[52] easier than they were?’ One of his valets says, ‘Your highness shall in all things be obey’d’; whilst one, who is measuring him round the waist, tells him, ‘I think these will be the best stays your highness has had yet.’
In the background are seen soldiery, and Wellington and Blücher sharpening their swords. Poor gouty Louis is clad in armour, and is mounted on Talleyrand as a charger. He is accompanied by an army of two men, armed with bottles of Eau Medicinal, and his artillery is composed of rolls of flannel. He soliloquises: ‘Well—we’ve Tally for the Field to-morrow! but don’t forget the Eau Medicinal and the Fleecy Hosiery; alas! these gouty limbs are but ill adapted to Jack boots and spurs—I think I had better fight my battles over a cool bottle with my friend George.’
The extreme right of the engraving shews Napoleon giving orders to ‘Let loose the Dogs of War;’ which is obeyed by one of his marshals, who delightedly exclaims, ‘Here is a glorious pack already sniffing human blood, and fresh for slaughter——On—comrades—on! the word is Bonaparte, Beelzebub and Blood.’
It was time to prepare for war, with a vengeance. On March 25 a treaty had been concluded at Vienna between Great Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia, binding themselves to maintain the Treaty of Paris, to keep each 150,000 men in the field, and not to leave off until Napoleon had been rendered harmless.
British gold had to be lavishly employed: the King of Würtemberg receiving from our Government 11l. 2s. for each man, to the number of 29,000, which he bound himself to bring into the field.[53] But the campaign in Belgium was to be a short one. We all know it, and its glorious end, at Waterloo. The news of that victory flew as never news flew before, for on the 22nd inst. was published the following official bulletin:
‘Downing Street, June 22, 1815.
‘The Duke of Wellington’s Dispatch, dated Waterloo, the 19th of June, states that on the preceding day Buonaparte attacked, with his whole force, the British line, supported by a corps of Prussians; which attack, after a long and sanguinary conflict, terminated in the complete overthrow of the Enemy’s Army, with the loss of One Hundred and Fifty Pieces of Cannon, and Two Eagles. During the night, the Prussians under Marshall Blücher, who joined in the pursuit of the Enemy, captured Sixty Guns, and a large part of Buonaparte’s Baggage. The Allied Armies continued to pursue the enemy. Two French Generals were taken.’
Although jubilant exceedingly, the nation hardly yet comprehended the value of that victory; in fact, in reading the immediate contemporary comments thereon, there seems to be a dread of Napoleon’s powers of resource and recuperation, and the illuminations which followed were not so enthusiastically described as on some other occasions.
One caricaturist seems to have been gifted with prescience, for before the victory became known he had produced a caricature which was called ‘A Lecture on Heads,[54] as Delivered by Marshalls Wellington and Blucher’ (artist unknown, June 21, 1815), which shews these heroes dealing death and destruction on the French all round them, making the heads fly all over the place. Blücher shouts out, ‘Blister ’em, Fire ’em, shoot ’em, Kick ’em, Lump ’em, Thump ’em, whack ’em, smack ’em.’ Wellington sings—
Bold as Hector or Macbeth,
Ri tol, lol, la.
Where’s the Fun like meeting Death,
Tol de ridy Tol de ray.
‘Monkey’s Allowance, more Kicks than Dumplings. A Farce Perform’d with Great Eclat at the National Theatre in the Netherlands,’ is the title of a not particularly good picture by an unnamed artist in June 1815. It represents Napoleon, with his hands tied behind him, getting ‘Monkey’s Allowance’ from the principal sovereigns of Europe.